This is a funny topic. The best developers generally solve a problem by using high level abstractions. They would usually (in my humble experience) make some drawings on a piece of paper or a white board, before writing any code. UML&Co tried to teach average developers this method, but lost focus, bloated and are hated by real developers nowadays.

BTW this is the best book on UML and software design I've read: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/020169946X?ie=UTF8&tag=...